Breakdown of Jag har tyvärr fått ett förhinder, och Anna är inte heller ledig.
jag
I
vara
to be
ett
a, an (neuter)
och
and
inte
not
ha
to have
ledig
off work / available, vacant (of a room)
Anna
Anna
tyvärr
unfortunately
heller
either (in negative sentences, e.g. not either)
få
to get, receive
förhindret
the impediment
Questions & Answers about Jag har tyvärr fått ett förhinder, och Anna är inte heller ledig.
Why do we say inte heller instead of just heller?
heller translates to either in English, but Swedish requires the negative word inte to pair with it to mean not either. They act as a team, and the standard order in a main clause is to put inte directly before heller.
What happens to the placement of inte heller if we turn the second half into a subordinate clause, like using eftersom (because)?
In a subordinate clause, sentence adverbs shift to come before the verb. The phrase inte heller stays together as a block, so it would become: ...eftersom Anna inte heller är ledig.
The literal translation "gotten an impediment" for fått ett förhinder sounds very formal in English. Is it this formal in Swedish?
Not at all. att få förhinder is the completely standard, everyday way to politely say "something came up" or "I have a scheduling conflict". It allows you to cancel plans without having to explain the specific reason.
Why is tyvärr placed between har and fått?
This follows the Swedish V2 (verb-second) rule for main clauses. The helper verb har takes the second position, and sentence adverbs like tyvärr are placed right after it, which pushes the main verb fått further down the sentence.
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